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In today's Mail on Sunday, Simon Walters claims that Michael Gove will announce sweeping changes to the GCSE system on Tuesday. Among the reported proposals are:

"Grade 1" to replace A*, with only 10 per cent of children getting this mark

Partial resits to be banned

Continuous assessment to be replaced with three-hour final exams

Algebra in maths exams, and essays in English papers

A single exam board, to address concerns that competition has led to a "race to the bottom"

It appears that Liberal Democrat protests over the return to a two-tier O-Level/CSE system have been heeded, as the new exams are being described as "single tier". Walters reports that the reforms will be announced in a joint press conference between Gove and Nick Clegg.

There is, however, one final noteworthy point. According to the MoS report, the proposed changes would not come in until September 2015, with the first candidates sitting the new exams in 2017. The next general election will be held in the summer of 2015, so if the Conservatives lose power, any proposed changes could be scrapped.